TITLE IX - POLICE REGULATIONS
Chapter 107 - ANIMALS
Currently, residents of single family or two-family homes can get permits to keep chickens if they get written permission from nearby property owners. Chicken coops must be in the backyard and forty feet away from neighboring houses, unless nearby property owners give permission to build them closer.
There are sanitation rules to keep out rodents.
The revised ordinance below requires people to get permission from neighbors before keeping chickens, but it allows owners of all types of property to apply for a permit. Six chickens are allowed instead of four, and the setback requirements are reduced. Chicken fences and structures must be three feet from properties that are zoned residential or restricted mixed use. The sanitary rules are unchanged.
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9:42. - Keeping of chickens.
(1) Any person who keeps chickens in the City of Ann Arbor shall obtain a permit from the City prior to acquiring the chickens. No permit shall be issued to a person, by the City, and no chickens shall be allowed to be kept unless the owners of all adjacent properties (as defined below in subsection (3)j.) zoned residentially or as Restricted Mixed Use, consent in writing to the permit and this consent is presented along with an application for a permit. Application shall be made to the City Clerk and the fee for the permit shall be as determined by Council resolution.
Permits expire and become invalid 5 years after the date of issuance. A person who wishes to continue keeping chickens shall have obtained a new permit on or before the expiration date of the previous permit. Application for a new permit shall be pursuant to the procedures and requirements that are applicable at the time the person applies for a new permit.
(2) Notwithstanding the issuance of a permit by the City, private restrictions on the use of property shall remain enforceable and take precedence over a permit. Private restrictions include but are not limited to deed restrictions, condominium master deed restrictions, neighborhood association bylaws, and covenant deeds. A permit issued to a person whose property is subject to private restrictions that prohibit the keeping of chickens is void. The interpretation and enforcement of the private restriction is the sole responsibility of the private parties involved.
(3) A person who keeps or houses chickens on his or her property shall comply with all of the following requirements: a. Have been issued the permit required under subsection (1) of this section. b. Keep no more than 6 chickens. c. No person shall keep any rooster. d. No person shall slaughter any chickens. e. The chickens shall be provided with a covered enclosure and must be kept in the covered enclosure or a fenced enclosure at all times. Fenced enclosures are subject to all provisions of
Chapter 104 (Fences). g. No covered enclosure or fenced enclosure shall be located closer than 3 feet to any property line of an adjacent property;
Ann Arbor, Michigan, Code of Ordinances Page 1

TITLE IX - POLICE REGULATIONS
Chapter 107 - ANIMALS i. For purposes of this section, adjacent property means all parcels of property that the applicant's property comes into contact with at 1 or more points, except for parcels that are legally adjacent to but are in fact separated from the applicant's property by a public or private street. j. All enclosures for the keeping of chickens shall be so constructed or repaired as to prevent rats, mice, or other rodents from being harbored underneath, within, or within the walls of the enclosure. k. All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chickens that are likely to attract or to become infested with or infected by rats, mice, or other rodents shall be protected so as to prevent rats, mice, or other rodents from gaining access to or coming into contact with them. l. If the above requirements are not complied with, the City may revoke any permit granted under this section and/or initiate prosecution for a civil infraction violation.
(4) A person who has been issued a permit shall submit it for examination upon demand by any Police
Officer or Code Enforcement Officer.
(Ord. No. 0819, § 2, 6-2-08, eff. 8-7-08)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, Code of Ordinances Page 2